Deaths of children in house fires

BMJ 1996;312:511 (24 February)

Letters

Deaths of children in house fires

EDITOR,--Ian Roberts's editorial on the deaths of children inhouse fires omits to mention what is overwhelmingly the mostimportant factor in fatal residential fires--namely, cigarettes.¹"Smokers' materials" are the source of ignition in nearly halfof the house fires in Britain that result in a death. Matchesare not included in the government's definition of this term,and in fatal residential fires the term essentially refers tocigarettes. Any discussion of deaths among children becauseof house fires ought therefore to mention cigarette smokingby members of the victims' households.

In 1994, at a national conference on fatal house fires in Scotland,Professor Timothy Squires noted that "over 40% to almost 50%"of such fires were caused by cigarettes. Now, against the backgroundof an overall decrease in the rate of deaths in fires in thetwo ensuing years, that percentage has risen to 54% in Scotland.

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